I heard a statement while watching telly recently, that Australia doesn’t have a food identity as strong as most other countries because many of us have never even eaten native ingredients, let alone cooked with them.
I have to somewhat agree with this unfortunate sentiment having never tried any of our indigenous foods myself until my very late teens, even though I come from an incredibly food orientated family and grew up with a fantastic cook mother who loved to experiment with different ingredients and cuisines.
As for cooking with native ingredients… Sadly this came even later for me, and many of them still feel more foreign than fish sauce.
How ironic that growing up in Australia, eating a traditional Laksa for dinner was normal in my home, yet Roo and Lemon Myrtle were never on the menu.
Thankfully though in this age of sustainability and with our newfound locavore mentality, these days there are a much larger number of amazing chefs and food businesses doing awesome bush tucker things. Making it more readily available and feeling less unfamiliar to us all.
I made this delicioso corn bread for a catering gig recently, and it was such a mega hit I feel entirely compelled to share the recipe with you to try at home.
This bread is also gluten free, which always turns a few gluten lovin’ noses up… But, I can assure you the nuttiness you get from the quinoa flour makes it utterly to-die-for.
“Who needs gluten anyway…?”
OK, I always need gluten, but not in this particular bread. Trust me!
And, you might even be asking yourselves why, as a native novice myself, I’m even writing this post?
‘Tis true dear friends, I am far from an authority on the matter, in fact I’m still just starting to learn as well.
I’m all about experimenting with entry level natives… Kind of the way I deal with offal too.
You won’t see me eating witchetty grubs (or testicles) anytime soon, but you will see me cooking with quandong (and liver).
And really bearing this in mind, the point I’m trying to make is that no matter your minimal familiarity with our indigenous ingredients, you have to start somewhere… Even if it’s just cooking a loaf of bush tomato corn bread.
Until next time… Bree xxx
RECIPE: GF Bush Tomato Corn Bread with Hand Churned Native Butter
These are 3 of my fave shops where you can find everything you need to start your native pantry… Check them out, take your taste buds on an Aussie adventure and literally, eat local…
http://www.warndu.com/
http://www.outbackpride.com.au/
http://www.somethingwild.com.au/
Photo Cred: The snap of my corn bread and butter was taken by Serrelle, my right hand kitchen angel. Thanks babe X
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